


Dates and Red Velvet Cakes

by chasethewind



Series: 10 Fics in 10 Days [6]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Baking, F/M, Fluff, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-08 23:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5516963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chasethewind/pseuds/chasethewind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: “hi we’re neighbours and omg are you alright i could smell cooking burning - whoaaa now that’s just embarrassing? step aside i’ll handle this”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dates and Red Velvet Cakes

The god awful smell of something burning wafted into Oliver's apartment as he sat on the couch watching the Hawks take on the Kings that evening. Dinner had been eaten and cleaned up over an hour ago, and now he was free to enjoy the game with a beer and the knowledge that tomorrow was Saturday. A weekend free of responsibilities awaited him, and he was going to enjoy it, damn it!

But that smell… Dear god, it was terrible! Oliver stood up, setting his beer down on the coffee table in front of him, and went to investigate where it was coming from. There was a distinct odor to it, one of burnt eggs possibly? It definitely wasn't wood, he was sure of that. No, this was food. As he followed the scent trail to his front door, it got stronger. Then he realized it was coming from one of the apartments down the hall.

Opening the door, Oliver stuck his head out to investigate. The scent became stronger, and as he glanced around, he saw wisps of smoke coming from the apartment across from his. He immediately ran up to the door and knocked. After a few moments, it opened to reveal a tiny little blonde woman with glasses and blue eyes, a spatula in her hand. Her clothes were covered in what had to have been flour while there was a smudge of something brown on her chin.

"Hi, we're neighbors and… Oh, my god! Are you alright?" Oliver asked as soon as he took one look at her. "I could smell something burning from across the hall in my apartment."

"Oh, this is so embarrassing," the woman replied, slapping her free hand against her forehead as she closed her eyes. Her face contorted in a mortified frown. "I'm so sorry," she added, her eyes still screwed shut. "I swear, I was just trying to make breakfast for tomorrow, but I have failed horribly and now I don't know what to do because everyone's bringing something to the office potluck and I can't cook to save my life!"

Oliver glanced around her apartment, spotting the remains of what appeared to be a burnt cake sitting on top of the kitchen counter. Glancing down at the woman and seeing that she was now looking down at her toes, he decided to take pity on her. Besides, if there was one thing he could do well, it was cook. "Step aside, I'll handle this," he said, brushing past her and stepping straight into her kitchen.

"What?! Woah!" she yelled, immediately following him. "I don't even know who you are! You might not even be my neighbor. You could be a stalker like the lacrosse player back in my freshman year at MIT… Or some serial murderer looking for his next victim."

Oliver couldn't help but chuckle as he turned back to her, extending his hand. "Oliver Queen," he replied.

Her eyes immediately widened. "Oliver Queen, as in hair to the Queen family fortune, as in Queen Consolidated, as in my boss's boss's boss's boss's son?" she muttered.

His head cocked to the side as he stared down at her. "Yeah," he said. "Wait, you work for QC?"

"IT Department Assistant Manager," she answered. "Felicity Smoak." She finally shook his hand. "I can't believe the head honcho of my company's son lives right across from me and I didn't even know."

"I'm trying to keep a low profile," Oliver replied as he turned to step into her kitchen. "So, you're trying to bake a cake?"

" _Trying_ being the key word."

"Chocolate, yellow, or red velvet?"

"Uh… does it matter?"

"No, but I'd like to get an idea of how I can help you."

"Okay, wait a minute. You know how to bake?"

"Yeah… and cook… and do laundry, pretty much everything a self sufficient person can do."

Felicity's mouth hung in shock and awe. Oliver smiled back at her, grabbing the handle of the fridge and pulling it open to see what he had to work with. "I'm just… slightly overwhelmed right now, so please excuse my lack of already pathetic verbal skills," she said.

"So, what'll it be?" Oliver asked, politely choosing to ignore her verbal gaffs in order to make her feel a little more comfortable. After all, he had pretty much barged into her apartment and commandeered her kitchen without so much as asking.

"Um… red velvet?" It came out more as a question than an answer, but again, he ignored it and simply got down to work.

There were more than enough ingredients to make several cakes sitting on her counter, so Oliver started off with measuring out what he needed for just one. As he started mixing together the batter, he saw out of the corner of his eye Felicity taking a seat on one of her bar stools to watch him. The silence continued between them as he grabbed one of her baking pants, buttering it before placing a piece of parchment paper on the bottom then pouring the batter into it. The oven was already set to the correct temperature, so he slid in the pan to bake for half an hour.

"I have been struggling for almost three hours and you put it all together and into the oven in less than twenty minutes," Felicity said. "Where have you been all my life?"

Oliver laughed a deep, hearty laugh as he leaned against the counter, his arms folded over his chest. "Across the hall apparently," he quipped.

A smile lit up her face. "I really don't know how to thank you," she replied.

"It was nothing, really," Oliver said. "I just want you to answer one question."

"What's that?"

"How did you burn your eggs?" he asked.

The color of her cheeks went from pale pink to bright red as she bit her lip. "I might have accidentally turned on the stove while I was turning on the oven and forgot to turn it off when I put the eggs on top of it," Felicity admitted.

"Accidents happen," Oliver shrugged.

"Yeah, well, that was one hell of an embarrassing accident," she replied.

"I wouldn't exactly call it an embarrassing accident. Maybe more like serendipity," Oliver said.

"Serendipity?"

"Serendipity because I got to meet you."

"Oh, my god," Felicity started laughing. "Are you hitting on me?"

"Is it working?"

"Maybe…"

Her cheeks were still rosy, but Oliver could tell she was being truthful. His intentions hadn't been to hit on her, but their banter just came so naturally that he couldn't help himself. He actually enjoyed talking to Felicity, unlike many of the girls he had dated in the past. "Well, if it is working, and you'd like to thank me for my help, how about accompanying me to dinner tomorrow night?" he asked.

Felicity sat silent for several minutes, her lower lip worried between her front teeth as she thought. For a moment, Oliver expected her to turn him down, but then she said, "As in a date? Like an actual _date_ date?

"Yes, a _date_ date," Oliver replied, giving her one of his most charming and sincere smiles because, holy shit, she was incredibly adorable when she gave him those big doe eyes widened with surprise.

"Okay," Felicity answered.

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"It's a date! Actually, it's a time, but you know what I mean."

Oliver's smile widened. Had he known about this sweet little creature across the hall, he would have gotten to know her earlier, but he was glad this was happening now. After so many other failed relationships, he felt a little more confident and mature, someone worthy of this amazing woman that stood before him with big blue eyes, flushed cheeks, and sweet personality. He just hoped he'd be able to prove it tomorrow night.

The Hawks game was calling his name, and Oliver turned to leave satisfied in the knowledge that he'd helped her out to the best of his ability, until Felicity placed a gentle hand on his forearm. "Please don't go yet! I don't wanna burn the cake!" she said, her voice sounding a little panicked. Oliver chuckled and returned to the kitchen, taking a seat next to her as they waited for the cake to finish baking. The Hawks game could wait.


End file.
